Supreme Citrus and Strawberry Salad (Very basic &#...

Are you one of those lucky (or wise) people who has cultivated a conscientious yet carefree outlook? Because if you are, I admire you enormously.  I could use some tips, if you can ever spare the time. I must have been born with an abnormal, enlarged worry gene. When things go wrong, I worry about everything. When things go right, I worry about when the trend will end. This has been a lifelong pattern, and I’ve done a...

Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream (Du Nats, Plot to ...

Wow, my head is so crammed full of stuff it feels like a slovenly closet/storage space. That’s what this post is going to be like, too, fyi. Only I’m choosing to think of it as a strawberry sundae. That’s what strawberry buttermilk ice cream is for, after all…a little celebratory self-indulgence. Especially when delicate dark chocolate shavings are whipped throughout. It’s about high time for...

Flaxberry muffins (and the incredible versatility ...

I may as well tell you, this muffin recipe has been sitting on top of the mental queue of blog posts for a couple of weeks now. They keep getting their number called, and yet somehow defer. This is partly because I didn’t take time to photograph them well, even on a relative standard of “well for me”; and, primarily because, despite the fact that I really, really like them (especially warm, fresh from the...

Guest post from Gaiam: Two Summer Salads

“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.” -Chief Seattle Those are the words that first draw your attention on the Gaiam “About” page, and on this dewy, clear Sunday morning, they really resonate. Gaiam is a Boulder-based company that specializes in organic living, mental,...

Tofu-based lemon dill dressing

I’ve been psycho-analyzing everything lately. Especially myself…that must sound awfully narcissistic, but the reality is that said self-analysis is loaded with recurring stings and prickles of self-consciousness. Which is still self-involved, I suppose, but not the same. The unfortunate thing is, the mental-emotional-reflective gymnastics is having a counterproductive impact on my efforts to clear the mind of...

Butternut, spinach and leek soup

Dave, if you’re seeing this, guess what? It’s what you’re having for dinner. I wish I were better at taking pictures, because then maybe you’d be excited. This soup of the day owes in part to Lisa, actually, who told me recently that she tried putting spinach in smoothies and liked it. Maybe that’s a common thing, but I just had to admire the idea. I thought I threw spinach into about everything...

Whole grain millet bars

Today we had a big, tiring brick workout, and all I wanted to do afterward was take a nap. Instead, I made these experimental millet bars. Because experimenting with millet bars is fun, of course, and because that’s what you do for a friend like Jen, who buys you a beckoning coffee shop bar she knows you’ll love and writes down the listed ingredients–since you’ll without doubt be itching to try to...

This Week: Dress Better

Naturally, this post’s heading  begs to be fashion related. Anyone who knows me,  knows better, yet  probably wishes my focus would be fashion-related for a change. Last week, I got to enjoy surprise compliments on an outfit I did indeed pick out myself. Who cares that the sort-of-capri-pants were actually Chinese pajamas I got sometime in high school? My best clothes, though, are always gifts or hand-me-downs,...

Better Whey of Life Yogurt

I know, I just made a point of saying I don’t tend to review products very often, and within two weeks, I’ve found two new products I can’t resist sharing. You may have heard me whine (just a little) about the tests and trials I’ve been enduring perfecting the supposedly easy process of making yogurt. For various reasons, I’ve had several failures, along with a few successes. First they were on...

Simply Banana (or Chocolate Banana) Ice Dream

Want in on a (probably not wildly known), magical, delicious–and healthy–secret? Seriously, this is one of the purest, finest, and easiest, examples of kitchen alchemy I’ve ever had the stunning fortune to stumble upon. OK, enough already: bananas make superb ice cream. That’s all you need, plus a blender or food processor, that is. Regale your gluten, dairy, egg, and granulated sugar free friends with...

This Week: the Salad Challenge

I’ve been becoming a  little like the stooped, weary man from the old Dunkin’ Donuts commercials…slumping down the stairs in the pitch dark, mumbling “time to make the doughnuts” half-zombiefied. Only my murmurings are more along the lines of, “time to make the yogurt…and the veggie stock…and the chicken stock…and the granola…and the lotion…and the...

Hot Product: The Better Chip

You’ve probably noticed, I don’t often do product reviews, what with being so engrossed in Kitchen Science/DIY. But lately I’ve been stumbling upon products that really do wow me, and underscore the incredible trend towards better methods, ingredients, and portions. We may have to pay a little more for the quality, but that just adds incentive to equally important moderation. Whether you’re a chips...